Advanced intelligent single telephone number routing

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided for routing a telephone call according to the geographic location of the originating party. A subscriber with multiple network locations within a service territory may have all of their offices accessible to customers through a single publicized telephone number. The single telephone number may trigger advanced intelligent network technology. The network may ascertain the geographic location from which the call originates and accordingly, route the originating call to a subscriber's office which is located closest to the originating caller. Further, exception periods may be provided to enable subscribers to individualize their service by only routing to the closest satellite office at specified days, times, etc. The exception periods may also be employed to reroute calls intended for the closest satellite office to a predetermined location.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for routing an originating call to a subscriber location within a local communication network, said network comprising a two-way communication network interconnecting a plurality of service switching points and a plurality of dispersed network locations, said service switching points selectively establishing a communication connection between at least two of said network locations in response to a local call request from a calling party initiated by inputting a telephone number, said network locations including a plurality of subscriber locations, and an integrated service control point comprising a service control point comprising subscriber service logic, said method comprising: identifying a subscriber's service at a service switching point serving the input telephone number based on the local call request from the calling party to establish a communication connection with the subscriber;   ascertaining a geographic location of the calling party in accordance with the originating telephone number of the calling party; and   determining, within the integrated service control point, which of the plurality of subscriber locations is closest to the geographic location of the calling party, the determining including comparing the ascertained geographic location with a predefined list of geographic areas corresponding to post office zip code+4 designations and comprising a predefined subscriber service area, each subscriber service area being associated with a routing telephone number corresponding to one of the plurality of subscriber locations, the comparing comprising comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+4 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+3 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+2 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+1 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+0 designation of each listed geographic area, and wherein if no matches are found, the call request is forwarded to a predetermined default routing telephone number   wherein, if a match is found the call request is forwarded to the associated routing telephone number.   
     
     
       2. The method according to claim 1, the ascertaining step including: receiving the originating telephone number; and   translating the originating telephone number into a zip code of call origination.   
     
     
       3. The method according to claim 1, the ascertaining step including: forwarding the originating call to a predetermined default telephone number when the originating telephone number is not received by the service control point.   
     
     
       4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising limiting incoming calls to the identified service to calls originating within a predefined geographic area. 
     
     
       5. The method according to claim 4, the limiting step occurring after identifying the service and before the ascertaining step. 
     
     
       6. The method according to claim 4, the predefined geographic area defining a market area of the subscriber and stored in a table in the service control point. 
     
     
       7. The method according to claim 4, forwarding calls originating outside of said predefined geographic area to an informational announcement. 
     
     
       8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predefined list correlates each geographic location within the subscriber services area with a predefined terminating number of one of the plurality of subscriber locations. 
     
     
       9. The method according to claim 1, the ascertaining step comprising: querying a database external to the integrated service control point that includes a list of service provider customer telephone numbers and corresponding customer geographic information.   
     
     
       10. The method according to claim 9, said customer information including zip code+4 information. 
     
     
       11. The method according to claim 9, responding to the querying step by transmitting the geographic information related to the originating telephone number to the service control point. 
     
     
       12. The method according to claim 11, the determining step forwarding the call request to a terminating telephone number of the closest subscriber location to the geographic location response. 
     
     
       13. The method according to claim 9, responding to the querying step by transmitting predetermined default geographic information when the originating telephone number is not listed in the external database. 
     
     
       14. The method according to claim 13, the determining step forwarding the call request to a predetermined default telephone number when predetermined default geographic information is transmitted in the query response. 
     
     
       15. The method according to claim 9, said ascertaining step further comprising: waiting a predetermined time period for a response to the query to the external database;   forwarding the call request to a predetermined default routing telephone number if a response is not received within the predetermined period.   
     
     
       16. The method according to claim 15, said predetermined time period being between approximately 1.0 and 3.0 seconds. 
     
     
       17. The method according to claim 9, the external database comprising a line information database. 
     
     
       18. The method according to claim 17, the line information database comprising: receiving service provider customer billing information for each associated customer telephone number;   stripping off post office zip code+4 designations for each customer; and   storing for each customer zip code+4 designation according to the associated customer telephone number.   
     
     
       19. The method according to claim 1, said method further comprising recognizing an exception period for providing at least one alternate routing telephone number. 
     
     
       20. The method according to claim 19, wherein when the exception period is recognized before the ascertaining step, the method further comprising forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone number. 
     
     
       21. The method according to claim 20, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       22. The method according to claim 19, the exception period comprising a plurality of exception periods, at least one exception period being associated with at least one routing telephone number associated with one of the plurality of subscriber locations, wherein when one of the exception period is associated with the determined closest subscriber location, the method further comprising:   forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers.   
     
     
       23. The method according to claim 22, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       24. The method according to claim 19, the exception period comprising a first and a second exception period, said first exception period being recognizable before the ascertaining step,   wherein when the first exception period is recognized, the method further comprising forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone number;   said second exception period comprising a plurality of exception periods, at least one exception period being associated with at least one routing telephone number associated with one of the plurality of subscriber locations,   wherein when one of the exception period is associated with the determined closest subscriber location, the method further comprising: forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers.     
     
     
       25. The method according to claim 24, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       26. The method according to claim 1, the determining step including: predefining a certain percentage of incoming calls to be allocated among each of a predetermined plurality of said subscriber locations;   selecting, according to a volume of said incoming calls and to said predefined percentages, one subscriber location of said predetermined plurality of subscriber locations to which to allocate said call request; and   identifying said one location as said determined closest subscriber location.   
     
     
       27. An apparatus for routing an originating call to a subscriber location within a local communication network, said network comprising a two-way communication network interconnecting a plurality of service switching points and a plurality of dispersed network locations, said service switching points selectively establishing a communication connection between at least two of said network locations in response to a local call request from a calling party initiated by inputting a telephone number, said network locations including a plurality of subscriber locations, and an integrated service control point comprising a service control point comprising subscriber service logic, said apparatus comprising: means for identifying a subscriber's service at a service switching point serving the input telephone number based on the local call request from the calling party to establish a communication connection with the subscriber;   means for ascertaining a geographic location of the calling party in accordance with the originating telephone number of the calling party;   a system that recognizes an exception period, which corresponds to at least one alternate routing telephone number, before the ascertaining means ascertains the geographic location of the calling party;   a forwarding system that forwards the call request to one of the at least one alternate routing telephone number when the recognizing system recognizes the exception period;   means for determining, within the integrated service control point, which of the plurality of subscriber locations is closest to the geographic location of the calling party when outside the exception period; and   means for routing the originating call to the determined closest subscriber location via a local exchange carrier when outside the exception period.   
     
     
       28. The apparatus according to claim 27, the ascertaining step including: means for receiving the originating telephone number; and   means for translating the originating telephone number into a zip code of call origination.   
     
     
       29. The apparatus according to claim 27, the ascertaining means including: means for forwarding the originating call to a predetermined default telephone number when the originating telephone number is not received by the service control point.   
     
     
       30. The apparatus according to claim 27, further comprising means for limiting incoming calls to the identified service to calls originating within a predefined geographic area. 
     
     
       31. The apparatus according to claim 30, the limiting means actuated after said service is identified and before said ascertaining means are actuated. 
     
     
       32. The apparatus according to claim 30, the predefined geographic area defining a market area of the subscriber and stored in a table in the service control point. 
     
     
       33. The apparatus according to claim 30, means for forwarding calls originating outside of said predefined geographic area to an informational announcement. 
     
     
       34. The apparatus according to claim 27, the determining means including: means for comparing the ascertained geographic location with a predefined list of subscriber service areas, the predefined list being stored within the service control point.   
     
     
       35. The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the predefined list correlates each geographic location within the subscriber service area with a predefined terminating number of one of the plurality of subscriber locations. 
     
     
       36. The apparatus according to claim 27, the ascertaining means comprising: means for querying a database external to the integrated service control point that includes a list of service provider customer telephone numbers and corresponding customer geographic information.   
     
     
       37. The apparatus according to claim 36, said customer information including zip code+4 information. 
     
     
       38. The apparatus according to claim 36, further comprising means for responding to the querying step by transmitting the geographic information related to the originating telephone number to the service control point. 
     
     
       39. The apparatus according to claim 38, the determining means forwarding the call request to a terminating telephone number of the closest subscriber location to the geographic location response. 
     
     
       40. The apparatus according to claim 36, further comprising means for responding to the querying step by transmitting predetermined default geographic information when the originating telephone number is not listed in the external database. 
     
     
       41. The apparatus according to claim 40, the determining means forwarding the call request to a predetermined default telephone number when predetermined default geographic information is transmitted in the query response. 
     
     
       42. The apparatus according to claim 36, said ascertaining means further comprising: means for waiting a predetermined time period for a response to the query to the external database; and   means for forwarding the call request to a predetermined default routing telephone number if a response is not received within the predetermined period.   
     
     
       43. The apparatus according to claim 42, said predetermined time period being between approximately 1.0 and 3.0 seconds. 
     
     
       44. The apparatus according to claim 37, the predefined list including: a plurality of geographic areas which comprise a predefined subscriber service area, wherein each geographic area listed is associated with a routing telephone number corresponding to one of the plurality of subscriber locations.   
     
     
       45. The apparatus according to claim 44, the determining means comprising: means for comparing the ascertained geographic location with each geographic area listed in the predefined list,   wherein, if one of the plurality of geographic areas corresponds to the ascertained geographic location, forwarding the call request to the associated routing telephone number, and   wherein, if one of the plurality of geographic areas does not correspond to the ascertained geographic location, forwarding the call request to a predetermined default routing telephone number.   
     
     
       46. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein each geographic area is listed according to it post office zip code+4 designation, and said comparing means comprises: comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+4 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+3 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+2 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+1 designation of each listed geographic area, wherein if no matches are found, comparing the ascertained geographic location to the zip code+0 designation of each listed geographic area, and wherein if no matches are found, the call request is forwarded to a predetermined default routing telephone number.   
     
     
       47. The apparatus according to claim 36, the external database comprising a line information database. 
     
     
       48. The apparatus according to claim 47, the line information database comprising: means for receiving service provider customer billing information for each associated customer telephone number;   means for stripping off post office zip code+4 designations for each customer; and   means for storing for each customer zip code+4 designation according to the associated customer telephone number.   
     
     
       49. The apparatus according to claim 27, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       50. The apparatus according to claim 27, the exception period comprising a plurality of exception periods, at least one exception period being associated with at least one routing telephone number associated with one of the plurality of subscriber locations, wherein when one of the exception period is associated with the determined closest subscriber location, the apparatus further comprising: means for forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers.     
     
     
       51. The apparatus according to claim 50, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       52. The apparatus according to claim 27, the exception period comprising a first and a second exception period, said first exception period being recognizable before the ascertaining step,   wherein when the first exception period is recognized, the apparatus further comprising means for forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone number;   said second exception period comprising a plurality of exception periods, at least one exception period being associated with at least one routing telephone number associated with one of the plurality of subscriber locations,   wherein when one of the exception period is associated with the determined closest subscriber location, the apparatus further comprising: means for forwarding the call request to a one of the at least one alternate routing telephone numbers.     
     
     
       53. The apparatus according to claim 52, each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number is assigned according to one of time of day, day of the week, specific date, and wherein each of the at least one alternate routing telephone number may be further forwarded according to percent allocation distribution.   
     
     
       54. The apparatus according to claim 27, the determining means including: means for predefining a certain percentage of incoming calls to be allocated among each of a predetermined plurality of said subscriber locations;   means for selecting, according to a volume of said incoming calls and to said predefined percentages, one subscriber location of said predetermined plurality of subscriber locations to which to allocate said call request; and   means for identifying said one location as said determined closest subscriber location.   
     
     
       55. A system for routing an originating call to a subscriber location within a local communication network, said network comprising a two-way communication network interconnecting a plurality of service switching points and a plurality of dispersed network locations, said service switching points selectively establishing a communication connection between at least two of said network locations in response to a local call request from a calling party initiated by inputting a telephone number, said network locations including a plurality of subscriber locations, and an integrated service control point comprising a service control point comprising subscriber service logic, said system comprising: an identifying system that identifies a subscriber's service at a service switching point serving the input telephone number based on the local call request from the calling party to establish a communication connection with the subscriber;   an ascertaining system that ascertains a geographic location of the calling party in accordance with the originating telephone number of the calling party;   a determining system that determines, within the integrated service control point, which of the plurality of subscriber locations is closest to the geographic location of the calling party; and   a routing system that routes the originating call to the determined closest subscriber location via a local exchange carrier;   wherein the ascertaining system comprises a querying system for querying a line information database, external to the integrated service control point, that includes a list of service provider customer telephone numbers and corresponding geographic information, the line information database comprising a receiver that receives service provider customer billing information for each associated customer telephone number, a stripper that strips off post office zip code+4 designations for each customer, and a storage that stores each customer zip code+4 designation according to the associated customer telephone number.   
     
     
       56. The system according to claim 55, said determining system including: a predefining system for predefining a certain percentage of incoming calls to be allocated among each of a predetermined plurality of said subscriber locations;   a selecting system for selecting, according to a volume of said incoming calls and to said predefined percentages, one subscriber location of said predetermined plurality of subscriber locations to which to allocate said call request; and   an identifying system for identifying said one location as said determined closest subscriber location.